Pilot Watch: Person of Interest

A few weeks ago I blogged about the new shows I planned to watch this fall, based mostly on whether the programs were in any way connected to Lost.

The pilot episode for Person of Interest -- which is executive produced by JJ Abrams, so check mark there  -- kept me guessing, and all the credit goes to screenwriter/creator Jonathan Nolan (best known for Dark Knight and Memento).

Twist #1: The thuggish weapons dealers from the teaser show up a second time as an integral part of the plot. Did not expect to see them again.

Twist #2: The group controlling the criminals, the group they're terrified of... aren't other gang members but corrupt cops.

Twist #3: The woman our heroes are trying to protect is actually the perpetrator; her colleague's the one in danger.

I didn't see any of the twists coming, and for that reason alone I was very impressed with the pilot script. However, it's one of those shows that requires willful suspension of disbelief.

The show centers on an eccentric billionaire (Michael Emerson) who teams up with a former CIA operative (Jim Caviezel) to prevent crimes before they happen. (How do they know what's going to happen? They receive flagged social security numbers from covert surveillance software created for the government after 9/11. Yeah.)

If you're willing to accept certain elements of the premise without thinking about them too much, it's definitely worth tuning in.

Now back into the editing cave I go!